PHOTOGRAPHER'S JOURNAL
The St A's (St. Alphonsus Church) cheerleaders, though small in number and stature, made themselves heard throughout the St Hyacinth's Church gymnasium in Auburn, Sunday, as they show their spirit during a CYO basketball game.

What would a sporting event be without cheerleaders? The sound of clapping hands and stomping feet in unison: "Stand back, hold tough. Come on, St A's, and strut your stuff!"

According to Varsity.com, cheerleading's roots are closely tied to American football's. The first intercollegiate game was played in 1869, between Princeton University and Rutgers University in New Jersey, and by the 1880s, Princeton had formed an all-male pep club. A graduate of Princeton, Thomas Peebles, took the Princeton cheers to the University of Minnesota, where football and fight songs were becoming popular.

In 1898, U of M was on a losing streak, and a medical student named Johnny Campbell assembled a group to energize the team and the crowd. Johnny picked up a megaphone and rallied the team with the first organized cheer: "Rah, Rah, Rah! Ski-U-Mah! Hoo-Rah! Hoo-Rah! Varsity! Varsity! Minn-e-so-tah!

Cheerleading grew from there. It wasn't until 1923 that women were allowed to cheer, at the University of Minnesota. During this decade, cheerleaders added tumbling and acrobatics to their routines, and a University of Oregon cheerleader used flashcards for the first time.

It wasn't until the 1940s that women joined in large numbers, since so many college-aged men went off to fight in World War II.

By the 1960s, cheerleading could be found in virtually every high school and grade school across the country, including pee wee and youth leagues.

So, opposing players, beware: "You might be good at baseball, you might be good at track, but when it comes to basketball you might as well sit back!"